With apologies to Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers, for my money the most eye-catching deal ahead of Monday’s trade deadline was the Red Sox acquiring Adley Rutschman in a six-player blockbuster with the Orioles. Not only did a switch-hitting All-Star catcher move from one Wild Card contender to another, but he did so within the same division — and he’s more than a rental, with one more year of arbitration eligibility before he reaches free agency. Though he’s currently on the injured list due to inflammation in his left wrist, Rutschman is reportedly nearing a rehab assignment, and once he returns, he should provide a substantial upgrade for a team whose catchers landed on my Replacement-Level Killers list a few weeks ago.

Rustchman wasn’t the only prominent catcher on the move to a contender on Monday, as the Marlins traded Liam Hicks to the Rays, but he’s a part-time backstop whose hitting makes him a useful DH and first base option as well. While the concurrence of his being dealt illustrates that trading for a catcher on the fly in the midst of a playoff race isn’t unheard of, such moves do stand out. They’re not to be undertaken lightly because of the weighty responsibility that falls on a catcher’s shoulders in terms of quickly having to build relationships with a new pitching staff to understand repertoires, situational preferences, and interpersonal dynamics. Odds are that those newcomers are also expected to provide more offense than the catchers they replaced, because offensive slumps often spur teams to make such changes. Read the rest of this entry »

In this trade deadline season where everyone’s within reach of a playoff spot, the Marlins were one of several teams that attempted to chart a middle path. Sure, we’ll sell off some of our best players — including, in Liam Hicks and Lake Bachar, some guys with plenty of team control left — but we’ll add in other trades and try to backfill those roles.

Miami’s big major league add was 26-year-old reliever Victor Vodnik, late of the Colorado Rockies. That sounds like damning with faint praise, and it is: Vodnik has a 5.25 ERA in 36 innings this season, and at the time of the trade, he was fifth among Rockies relievers in gmLI, which is the average leverage index when he enters the game. In other words, the Rockies don’t think Vodnik is a high-leverage reliever, or at least they hadn’t been using him that way.

Vodnik cost the Marlins third baseman Connor Norby, who was the less successful half of the Trevor Rogers trade, and pitching prospect Aiden May. Read the rest of this entry »

The Brewers pulled up short in their pursuit of Tarik Skubal, but ahead of Monday’s trade deadline, they did augment both their rotation and their bullpen. In a deal with the fading Cardinals, Milwaukee acquired 28-year-old righty starter Dustin May and 29-year-old lefty reliever JoJo Romero in exchange for a pair of outfield prospects, Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale. Separately, the Brewers also traded for 31-year-old righty reliever Antonio Senzatela from the Rockies in deal for two more prospects, left-hander Mark Manfredi and shortstop Juan Martinez.

At 69-42, the Brewers entered Monday with the majors’ best record, half a game better than the Dodgers (69-43). Led by Jacob Misiorowski — whose 1.63 ERA, 2.05 FIP, 40.6% strikeout rate, and 5.0 WAR all lead the majors — their rotation has the NL’s lowest ERA (3.48) and the majors’ lowest FIP (3.54), highest strikeout rate (26.4%), and highest WAR (17.8). Misiorowski and fellow starters Brandon Sproat, Logan Henderson, Shane Drohan, and Robert Gasser are all 27 or younger, and all but Misiorowski and Sproat have thrown fewer than 100 major league innings in their careers. They’re all likely to face workload concerns at some point, so adding another starter at the deadline was a necessity even if he wasn’t someone who might give the team’s odds of winning the World Series a CC Sabathia-sized lift, as Skubal would have. Read the rest of this entry »

The Chicago White Sox are in a position to buy at the deadline for the first time in Chris Getz’s three seasons as GM. And Getz sure is getting his money’s worth. First Luis Castillo, then Huascar Brazobán, and now an outfielder: Brenton Doyle, late of the Colorado Rockies.

Doyle, 28, is not so much a unique player as the most extreme sustainable version of the all-glove/no-bat center field archetype. He’s making $3.1 million this year as a first-year arbitration guy, and he’s under team control through 2029. Getz parted with quite a bit to get him: right-handed pitcher Mason Adams and shortstop prospect Carlos Vielma.

Doyle was a fourth-round pick out of Division II Shepherd University; he’s that school’s only big leaguer in the past 50 years, but the name fits because he plays center field like a border collie. From Doyle’s debut in 2023 to the end of last season, he led all outfielders in FRV with 44. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jacob Young, and Ceddanne Rafaela have been better on a per-inning basis, but that’s the kind of rarefied air Doyle has been playing in. Read the rest of this entry »

Hello. While on paternity leave, I kept a journal about baseball and my daughter, who is not named Derek Jr., but who will henceforth be referred to as Derek Jr. You can read all of the entries here.

May 20
Derek Jr. and I will be on our own for much of the day. My wife is planning on meeting up with a friend for a walk in the park, taking an hour-long call, and then spending a couple hours editing her novel. Things go beautifully at first. Derek Jr. naps for nearly three hours in the morning, during which time I do a little writing myself. I feed and change her when she wakes up, but the effort of having someone else feed and clothe her seems like it’s already tuckered her out. Such is the life of a baby.

I put her right back down to sleep and try to nap in the room with her, but I can’t sleep. My brain is still whirring from the writing I did earlier. So I grab the monitor and take a crack at mixing a children’s song I’ve been working on. It’s the last thing I recorded before Derek Jr. was born. Fittingly, it’s called “I’m Sleepy.” Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been thinking a lot about the baseball calendar in recent days, specifically how we use it to both mark the passage of time and look ahead to the possibility of what’s yet to come. As fans, we slice up the season to make it easier for us to discuss noteworthy performances, evaluate trends, and justify our irrational faith that our team just might turn things around. As analysts, we know that we shouldn’t draw grand conclusions from these individual slivers — the sample sizes are just too small — but we also recognize the benefits of using these otherwise arbitrary segments to understand the season as it unfolds.

I mention all of this because this weekend is start of the second half of the season. Of course, we all know that the All-Star break hasn’t been the season’s true midpoint for some time now, as Opening Day is scheduled earlier in the year than it used to be while the All-Star Game continues to be played on the second Tuesday of July. Even so, there are three reasons that I continue to find value in splitting up the season in mid-July. First, pausing the regular season for a few days provides a natural demarcation point. Second, with playoff field now expanded to 12 teams, the postseason lasts longer than ever before. Because the team that wins the World Series could play up to 22 additional games, the All-Star break ends up being much closer to the halfway point on the journey from Opening Day to the decisive game of the Fall Classic. Finally, the three-week stretch after the All-Star Game is a frenetic rush to the trade deadline that then rolls right into the Dog Days of August and the strenuous sprint of September. The games after the All-Star break are much more demanding than the ones before it, thus making the few days of respite in July feel like a more representative dividing line than Game 81 in late June.

Anyway, in this first mailbag of the second half, we’re answering your questions on what it would be like if MLB had a loan mechanism like professional soccer, Kyle Karros’ breakout, the longest time a team has spent within a half-game of .500, and what Anthony Rendon’s career might have been. But first, I’d like to remind you that this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs Members. If you aren’t yet a Member and would like to keep reading, you can sign up for a Membership here. It’s the best way to both experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with a bunch of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question for an upcoming mailbag, send me an email at mailbag@fangraphs.com. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a busy time for sports right now. The NBA Finals have been incredible. The Stanley Cup Finals have been nearly as good. The World Cup just started; Team USA is playing tonight. With this embarrassment of entertainment riches, regular season baseball might seem to temporarily lose a little bit of its luster. But even if you want to watch those other great spectacles, I implore you to set aside a few hours of your life this weekend for baseball. For a limited time only, they’re playing on the moon.

OK, fine, maybe not the actual moon. There are any number of logistical and physical challenges involved in that. But the first half of the six-game Las Vegas series has been the next best thing, and before the A’s play the Rockies this weekend, I’m hoping to convince you to watch it. I wouldn’t want my baseball to always look like this, but in small doses, it’s absolutely captivating.

The Athletics, currently playing in the minor league stadium of the Sacramento River Cats, have taken up an even briefer temporary residence in the stadium of their Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators. It’s a preview of sorts – in advance of their scheduled 2028 move to Sin City, the team is playing a six-game series there. And boy, does the ball carry in the desert.

Las Vegas sits only 2,000 feet above sea level. That sounds like nothing – Coors Field, the archetypical high-altitude ballpark, is famously a mile high. But the major league stadium at the second-highest altitude is Chase Field in Arizona, and it’s only 1,000 feet above sea level. That elevation helps the ball carry, but it’s only one of the many reasons that offense is high here. For one thing, it’s hot. High temperatures are forecast to exceed 100 degrees this weekend, with lows in the mid-80s providing little respite even at night. The air is as dry as it gets; Las Vegas has a lower average relative humidity than any big league city, and it’s particularly dry in the middle of summer. It’s an outdoor park, so there’s no escaping the hot, arid conditions. The PCL was the homer-happiest minor league in 2025, and Vegas was the homer-happiest park in the PCL. Read the rest of this entry »

When I announced my intention to write about Antonio Senzatela, Jon Becker burst into my Slack DMs like the Kool-Aid Man to demand I use a Penn and Teller-based headline. Credit where due: It was a great idea.

You know what’s not traditionally a good idea? Writing about Antonio Senzatela.

The rigorous study of baseball empirics has made us all smarter and better, but there are a few things I miss about the old days. Foremost among them is Nichols’ Law of Catcher Defense, an old pre-sabermetrics axiom which states the following: A catcher’s defensive reputation is inversely proportional to his offensive abilities. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to another edition of Five Things I Liked (Or Didn’t Like) This Week in Baseball. In keeping with the increasingly lenient definition of “this week” that I’ve been using of late, we’ve got stuff from all throughout May in this column. May is a great time to watch baseball. (It’s always a great time to watch baseball, but May is particularly good.) The weather is heating up. Ballparks are swelling with the start of summer crowds. Tarps are coming off. So please join me on a trip through the league, from fun teams to watch to nifty little plays. And as always, thanks to Zach Lowe of The Ringer for the inspiration.

1. The Go-Go Nats
Nationals fans have endured seven years in the wilderness since the team’s 2019 title. Washington’s season-high win total in that span was 71 (2023 and 2024). This year’s team is finally playing around .500 ball, though our projections think the Nats will end up right around that 71-win high-water mark again. (We have them down for 74 at the moment.) But while the winning hasn’t quite come back yet, the fun has.

This year, the Nationals are dominating on offense. They’re leading the majors in scoring by a mile, averaging an enormous 5.49 runs per game. They’ve hit the most doubles in baseball – in fact, they have the most extra-base hits in baseball. They’re top 10 in on-base percentage, top five in slugging, and top five in stolen bases. They’re first in overall baserunning value. They’re third in BaseRuns-projected scoring. This isn’t smoke and mirrors. Read the rest of this entry »

Direct links to applications (please see job details below):

Baseball Analytics Fellow
Baseball Analytics Associate

Baseball Analytics Fellow

ABOUT US

The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club is embracing the climb, committed to building a championship-caliber organization on the field, in the clubhouse, and throughout our business operations. Playing at altitude presents unique competitive challenges and opportunities, and we embrace innovation, collaboration, and evidence-based practices to support elite performance. Rooted in the traditions of America’s pastime, we operate with integrity, service, quality, and trust while striving to create an exceptional experience for our players, staff, and fans.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Baseball Analytics Fellow will support Baseball Operations and Research & Development by preparing, analyzing, and communicating data-driven insights that inform game strategy, player evaluation, scouting, and player development processes. This role is designed for an early-career analyst with strong technical skills, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to apply quantitative methods to meaningful baseball questions.

In this role, you will work with analysts, coaches, scouts, and Baseball Operations leadership to develop reports, visualizations, models, and research outputs that are clear, timely, and actionable. The ideal candidate is highly autonomous, communicates frequently, manages up effectively, and is comfortable supporting fluctuating baseball-season workflows.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Advance Preparation & Game Strategy

• Assist in the preparation, quality review, and distribution of advance scouting reports for upcoming opponents.
• Monitor daily lineups, roster moves, transactions, and other league information to support game planning and analysis.
• Conduct ad hoc research to inform game strategy, including analysis of ABS-related questions and comparisons across players, teams, and game situations.
• Coordinate and deliver advanced reports to Major League staff in a timely, usable format.

Research, Modeling & Data Preparation

• Assist analysts with data preparation, validation, cleaning, and quality checks for modeling and reporting workflows.
• Support predictive modeling projects by preparing datasets, engineering features, checking assumptions, and validating outputs.
• Conduct research related to player development, scouting, player personnel, league trends, and other Baseball Operations priorities.
• Support R&D staff with highly technical analysis, model development, and exploratory research based on departmental needs and the Fellow’s skills and interests.

Reporting, Visualization & Communication

• Develop visualizations, dashboards, lightweight tools, and other mechanisms for disseminating analytical results across Baseball Operations.
• Translate complex technical findings into clear, concise, and actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Provide written summaries, presentations, and recommendations that clearly describe methodology, assumptions, limitations, and practical implications.
• Help maintain and QA internal datasets, reports, and recurring workflows to ensure accuracy and consistency across sources.

Operational Support

• Provide operational support across Baseball Operations and R&D, including recurring reporting, special projects, and time-sensitive requests.
• Take ownership of assigned tasks and small-to-medium projects, driving them forward with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Collaborate with analysts, developers, scouts, coaches, and front office personnel to understand needs and deliver practical solutions.
• Contribute to a positive, curious, and collaborative Baseball Operations environment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical, quantitative, or otherwise relevant field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• Proficiency with SQL and at least one statistical programming language, such as R or Python.
• Experience preparing, cleaning, validating, and analyzing large or complex datasets.
• Foundational understanding of statistics, modeling, data visualization, and research design.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain analytical work to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities, communicate frequently, and proactively surface questions or risks.
• Passion for baseball and curiosity about using data to support player evaluation, player development, scouting, and in-game decision-making.

Preferred

• Degree or coursework in statistics, mathematics, computer science, data science, engineering, economics, operations research, physics, or a related technical field.
• Experience with AWS or another cloud environment.
• Experience using Git or similar version control workflows.
• Experience developing web applications, dashboards, or interactive tools, including R Shiny, Python-based web apps, or similar frameworks.
• Experience with machine learning, predictive modeling, simulation, computer vision, or player-tracking data.
• Prior experience using AI tools to support software development, application building, analysis, or workflow automation; experience with Claude or similar tools is a plus.
• Familiarity with public baseball research, baseball datasets, player evaluation concepts, scouting processes, or advanced scouting workflows.

SCHEDULE & TRAVEL

• This role follows the rhythm of the baseball season and requires flexibility based on game schedules, reporting cycles, and Baseball Operation’s needs.
• Workload and schedule may fluctuate throughout the season based on game schedules, trade deadlines, draft preparation, player evaluation cycles, and other departmental priorities.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Sedentary work: regularly required to remain in a stationary position, use a computer, communicate via phone/video/email, and review information on screens for extended periods.
• Occasionally required to move within an office or ballpark environment and attend meetings or events in person.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Salary: at the rate of $58,000 per year. The role is expected to earn approximately $25,000 for the duration of the assignment through October 31, 2026.
• This role may come with a housing stipend for non-local candidates.
• Full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), PTO, and more, subject to plan eligibility and applicable policies.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received by May 22, 2026. Please note that this is just an estimate, and the posting may be removed or extended at any time.
• The estimated time to complete the recruitment process will be by June 15, 2026.
• A note for Colorado Rockies employees:
  • Please apply via the internal job board in UKG by following these prompts: MENU > MYSELF > MY COMPANY > VIEW OPPORTUNITIES > select the position > CONSENT > APPLY NOW
  • If you cannot access UKG, please list your most recent Manager as an Employee Reference on your application.

To Apply
To apply, please follow this link.

Baseball Analytics Associate

ABOUT US

The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club is embracing the climb, committed to building a championship-caliber organization on the field, in the clubhouse, and throughout our business operations. Playing at altitude presents unique competitive challenges and opportunities, and we embrace innovation, collaboration, and evidence-based practices to support elite performance. Rooted in the traditions of America’s pastime, we operate with integrity, service, quality, and trust while striving to create an exceptional experience for our players, staff, and fans.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Baseball Analytics Associate will provide part-time analytical, reporting, visualization, and operational support to Baseball Operations and Research & Development. This role is well suited for a current student or early-career analyst who can contribute independently to recurring reports, data validation, ad hoc research, and lightweight tools while continuing to build technical and baseball operations experience.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Advance Preparation & Game Strategy

• Assist in the preparation, quality review, and distribution of advance scouting reports for upcoming opponents.
• Monitor daily lineups, roster moves, transactions, and other league information to support game planning and analysis.
• Conduct ad hoc research to inform game strategy, including analysis of ABS-related questions and comparisons across players, teams, and game situations.
• Coordinate and deliver advanced reports to Major League staff in a timely, usable format.

Research, Modeling & Data Preparation

• Assist analysts with data preparation, validation, cleaning, and quality checks for modeling and reporting workflows.
• Support predictive modeling projects by preparing datasets, engineering features, checking assumptions, and validating outputs.
• Conduct research related to player development, scouting, player personnel, league trends, and other Baseball Operations priorities.
• Support R&D staff with highly technical analysis, model development, and exploratory research based on departmental needs and the Fellow’s skills and interests.

Reporting, Visualization & Communication

• Develop visualizations, dashboards, lightweight tools, and other mechanisms for disseminating analytical results across Baseball Operations.
• Translate complex technical findings into clear, concise, and actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Provide written summaries, presentations, and recommendations that clearly describe methodology, assumptions, limitations, and practical implications.
• Help maintain and QA internal datasets, reports, and recurring workflows to ensure accuracy and consistency across sources.

Operational Support

• Provide operational support across Baseball Operations and R&D, including recurring reporting, special projects, and time-sensitive requests.
• Take ownership of assigned tasks and small-to-medium projects, driving them forward with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Collaborate with analysts, developers, scouts, coaches, and front office personnel to understand needs and deliver practical solutions.
• Contribute to a positive, curious, and collaborative Baseball Operations environment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• Currently enrolled in or recently completed an undergraduate (Junior going into Senior Year), graduate, PhD, postdoctoral, or technical program, preferably with a quantitative or technical focus.
• Experience with SQL and R or Python.
• General cloud experience, AWS exposure preferred.
• Experience with Git or similar version control preferred.
• Ability to communicate clearly, manage time independently, and provide frequent updates in a remote or hybrid environment.
• Interest in baseball analytics, player evaluation, advanced scouting, and/or game strategy.
• Ability to work in the United States and maintain availability during required Mountain Time work windows.

Preferred

• Degree or coursework in statistics, mathematics, computer science, data science, engineering, Experience with AWS or another cloud environment.
• Experience using Git or similar version control workflows.
• Experience developing web applications, dashboards, or interactive tools, including R Shiny, Python-based web apps, or similar frameworks.
• Experience with machine learning, predictive modeling, simulation, computer vision, or player-tracking data.
• Prior experience using AI tools to support software development, application building, analysis, or workflow automation; experience with Claude or similar tools is a plus.
• Familiarity with public baseball research, baseball datasets, player evaluation concepts, scouting processes, or advanced scouting workflows.

SCHEDULE & TRAVEL

• This role follows the rhythm of the baseball season and requires flexibility based on game schedules, reporting cycles, and Baseball Operations needs.
• Workload and schedule may fluctuate throughout the season based on game schedules, trade deadlines, draft preparation, player evaluation cycles, and other departmental priorities.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Sedentary work: regularly required to remain in a stationary position, use a computer, communicate via phone/video/email, and review information on screens for extended periods.
• Occasionally required to move within an office or ballpark environment and attend meetings or events in person.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Salary: at the rate of $19.29 per hour for the duration of the assignment through October 31, 2026.
• Part-time benefits include 401(k), sick time, and access to the Employee Assistance Program, subject to plan eligibility and applicable policies.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received by May 22, 2026. Please note that this is just an estimate, and the posting may be removed or extended at any time.
• The estimated time to complete the recruitment process will be by June 15, 2026.
• A note for Colorado Rockies employees:
  • Please apply via the internal job board in UKG by following these prompts: MENU > MYSELF > MY COMPANY > VIEW OPPORTUNITIES > select the position > CONSENT > APPLY NOW
  • If you cannot access UKG, please list your most recent Manager as an Employee Reference on your application.

To Apply
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Colorado Rockies.